Christmas Eve at Belk....

Last Night Elevation Church held Christmas Eve services at Belk Theater in the heart of uptown Charlotte. We filled this beautiful 2,100 seat theater three times and saw the largest attendance in our history as we had 6,006 people worshipping God. As amazing as that was, something more incredible happened. Pastor Steven preached the gospel and 414 people responded and gave their life to Christ!!! Words don't describe what took place last night, but there was a shift that happened...something changed. I've never seen our people leverage their relationships like last night. Mothers did everything they could to get their sons who were far from God there to hear the gospel. Teenagers brought their friends. Daughters brought their dads.....people leveraged their relationships and their loved ones walked away transformed through the power of the gospel. Talk about an amazing Christmas gift!!!

Praise God for last night and hold on Elevation Church because something broke loose....2009 is going to be amazing.....the best is yet to come!!!

Our Faith Defines Our Suffering....

One of my favorite series we've done at Elevation is itunes. During one of the sermons Pastor Steven talked about suffering and I was recently reminded of a powerful statement that still resonates in my spirit is "our faith defines our suffering....suffering does not define our faith." It was an incredible creed of the christian faith. Where's my faith in troubled times? Is God still great in tragedy? Is God still good in the midst of struggle? Is He still loving when your world is falling apart?

Elevation has lost a wonderful part of our family. Danny Kellas, one of our volunteers at Butler and a close personal friend passed away yesterday. I'll share more about Danny later. Below is a photo of my friend when I had the privilege of baptizing him last February....this Friday I'll have the privilege of preaching his memorial service...

Does your faith define your suffering or does your suffering define your faith?

Best kept secret on the internet....

I'm always looking for something cool and free on the Internet. Several months ago a friend turned me on to Pandora. If you're not familiar with this free application, you've been missing out. It's a free music player where you build your own "radio stations". Just type in your favorite song or artist and Pandora will play songs of that same genre. One of may favorite features is the shuffle which is a random play through your selected stations.

Here are my current Pandora radio stations:
-O Holy Night (getting ready for Christmas)

-Brooks and Dunn (for when I'm in the mood for a little country)
-Dave Matthews Band
-Bee Gees (yes, I love 70's music)
-Heart (one of the greatest chick rock and roll bands of all time)
-Chris Tomlin
-Hezekiah Walker (makes me feel like I have rhythm)
-Poison (the ultimate 80's rock band)
-Hillsong United
-The Police
-Hall and Oates

Try it, you'll love it....happy listening!!!

Exceeding Expectations....

I don't care who you are, all of us have expectations. It doesn't matter if you go to the bank, the DMV or give blood at the Red Cross...you have an expectation for the experience you are about to encounter. If you're going to Outback and you order a steak, a nice juicy fillet, you expect a certain caliber of meat. You expect a certain standard of steak commensurate with previous experiences at other Outbacks and the dollar amount you're about to spend. When the steak is finally put in front of you and you take that first bite, all the anticipation and expectation come to the test. If the tantalizing taste experience exceeds your expectations you get that satisfied smile on your face and exclaim "WOW", what a great steak. That's your response because it exceeded your expectations. On the other hand when you take the first bite and it's underwhelming, you're left with a scowl on your face as your taste buds are crying with disappointment and you exclaim "Crap, that's not what I expected."

Everyone walking into church on Sunday morning have expectations. Rightly or wrongly, pure or perverted....they all have expectations. The amazing opportunity that is in front of us is to create WOW moments and exceed people's expectations. When you understand what God has put in front of you, you begin to strategically allocate resources and plan to create a WOW experience.

With the people walking through your doors, have you stopped long enough to try to figure out what they are thinking, are you listening to what they are saying and are you trying to gain an understanding of how they are feeling? When you do those things, you are trying to enter into their world to gain an understanding of their expectations. God has put you in the place of being His hands and feet to a lost and hurting world....do all that you can so they walk away saying WOW because they have experienced the love of Christ through you!!!

Where's your focus....

It seems like there's a new church starting just about every weekend in Charlotte and when you combine that with the existing ones we have well over 1,000 in the area. Whether you're a new church or an existing one, there's a tension that most carry...the weight of "how we will get people to come." The underlying emotion is, how will we get people to know we're here and show up on Sunday morning. At Elevation we've been able to remove a great deal of the tension through having the right focus. Pastor Steven has always had the ability to see things off in the distance. It allowed him to prepare us for things that would happen in the future, so when they happened we felt like we were prepared.

One of those things we were prepared for was dealing with this concept of "how will we get them come." He started with the foundational believe that God gave His promise when He called us to start Elevation. We believed that it was God's vision to reach the city of Charlotte through this church and we can rest in that promise. I think every church starts from that perspective....God's called us.

Here's where Pastor Steven took it one step further, he taught us to let God be God and we'll focus on our part of the promise. In Matthew 16:18 God says"upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it." And in John 12:32 "But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself." God said that "I will build my church and draw all men onto myself. Pastor Steven reminded us that God's job is to bring the people, our job is create an experience they would come back for.

Because of the tension churches carry to try to get people to show up on Sunday they invest significant time and money to try to get them there. One problem though, often they've invested too much on the front end that the back end is ineffective. Because they are working so hard to try to convince people to show up on Sunday that when they finally do the worship experience is mediocre and walk away unaffected.

There's freedom when you realize what's your responsibility and God's promise. Focus most of your energy on "why would they come back" and let God be God. As people come and connect with Christ in your worship experience they will go home and invite their friends and family. Let the lives that God has transformed through your ministry invite others to experience your church.

When you keep the focus on "why would they come back" you're focusing your resources on the right thing....the people that God will bring to you!!! Stand in that promise and let God build his church!!!

Leveraging your Vision.....

A key for any successful church or business is to clearly define "The Win"...it's the goal, the thing you're trying to achieve through all of the effort and labor. At Elevation, "The Win" is clear: "so that people far from God will be filled with life in Christ". The Win at Elevation is life transformation. That's why hundreds of volunteers each week labor to create an experience where the gospel is preached and lives are transformed. We constantly celebrate the win through numbers and stories. Each week we share a few new stories with the staff and volunteers of the church to constantly keep us focused on "The Win. Leveraging the vision means that you celebrate the victories with those who have labored and sacrificed to make them become a reality....the funny thing; the more victories they celebrate, the more labor they will put in and sacrificial they become to see more Wins. If you're looking to motivate your volunteers, let the hear, feel and connect with "The Win".

Here is a story of the vision of Elevation in action...this is "The Win".

Pastor,

I just wanted to let you know the difference you and this church are making in peoples lives. A couple of weeks ago I met my friend, Stacey for breakfast and we talked about many things but one of the things we talked about was Elevation. Stacey started talking about her sister and that she had pretty much given up on church and her life was spinning out of control. She said her sister felt like she was judged and that she didn’t belong when she did try to go to church. We talked about Elevation and what a life changing place this was for people just like her sister. Well, Stacey called me Saturday and said that her sister had tried to end her life on Thursday and was just released from the hospital. Stacey said that she knew that her sister needed to be at Elevation for the Sunday service and that she was trying to talk her sister into coming and then working out all of the details to get her here. Her sister did agree and she came Sunday.
Well, I don’t have to tell you how important the volunteer teams are here but I will brag on them. They could not tell how desperate this girl was by looking at her but they treated her like they treat every person coming to Elevation. They were EXCITED that she was there and kept telling her over and over “we’re glad you are here!”. They directed her to a really great parking place and made her feel welcome, not at all like she didn’t belong. During the service I could tell that she was moved and in the end she raised her hand and she gave her life to Christ. On Monday, Stacey came up to me and could not believe what happened and was thrilled and looked as if she were walking on air. What a great thing to see hurting people find peace through Jesus.
This is the story of just one person but I think this plays out over and over and over again at Elevation…

Leadership Lessons from a Wrestling Legend....

Several months ago Pastor Steven Furtick gave the staff an assignment of seeking out leaders in various lines of work to glean principles that could translate into our ministry. I set my sights on trying to get a phone conference with Iowa’s legendary wrestling coach, Dan Gable. During his 21 years at the helm as coach, the Hawkeyes won an astounding 15 national championships. As an amateur wrestler he compiled a jaw-dropping record of 182-1 through high school and college. There is no other athlete or coach that has done more for the sport of wrestling than Dan Gable.

After a few attempts I was able to reach him on the phone. During the 20 minute phone call, he spoke of leadership principles that would rival any CEO’s best thoughts. Not only was he commanding, but he was as genuine as anyone I’ve ever met. His confident humility was obvious. He knew his accomplishments, yet his talent was only exceeded by his honest humility. Not a self deprecating “I was just lucky I guess”, but “I knew I wanted to be the best and worked as hard as I could to make it happen”.

Over the course of the conversation I was able to download a long list of principles. The one that stands out the most was his response to the question “why did some wrestlers not make it?” He is one of the best evaluators of talent in the world, yet not all of the wrestlers he recruited were able to be successful in the college ranks. His response was profound. “Going to a higher level requires a greater level of commitment at the new level.” As he unpacked the statement, the power behind it became clear. The problem with moving to a new level is in the interpretation of level of commitment it takes to be successful at that new level.

Dan Gable’s interpretation was not just to be good, but to be the absolute best wrestler in the history of the sport. That translated in an insanely driven training regime, an intense focus centered on that goal and a structuring of his entire life around that idea of excellence. The difference for Dan Gable was that “being the best” wasn’t just a talking point, it was a lifestyle. Everything he did centered on being the best and if it did not add to the bottom line it was eliminated. The wrestlers at Iowa who did not make it were not committed to being the best at the collegiate level. What caused them to be successful in high school would not work in college. When faced with the reality of their unwillingness to strive for the new commitment level they fell by the wayside.

Apply that concept to the church for a second. At Iowa it was Dan Gable who set the bar for the commitment level. The best wrestlers that came out of Iowa rose above that level and exceeded the expectation. Who’s setting the bar for commitment in your organization? Is it a nebulous thing that individuals are left to determine on their own? An entity mired in mediocrity is probably diseased with commitment issues. Secondly, every new level of responsibility in the church has to have an increased level of commitment to be the best. Moving from a volunteer to a volunteer leader is a new level of commitment. Going from a volunteer leader to a staff member is another huge jump.

Who is the one sitting down and clearly communicating what it takes to be the best and the level of commitment required? It is a much different conversation than asking someone to help. It’s giving someone an opportunity to be a part of the most amazing thing on earth, the church. As commitment levels are clearly communicated, leaders will rise to the challenge. Look for the people who have an innate drive to be the best, to exceed, to excel. Those are the leaders that are waiting for an opportunity to flourish.

2nd Fastest Growing Church in America....

One of the verses we have prayed consistently since we began Elevation is Ephesians 3:20 "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more that all we ask or imagine, according to the power that is at work within us, to him be the glory in the church..." We prayed that God would do such amazing things through Elevation that only He could take the credit, something so incredible there's no way it could have been done by human hands.

As we've prayed, time after time He's demonstrated His favor and Grace on this church. We've seen thousands of lives transformed right in front of us! We've witnessed marriages put back together and people radically changed by the power of the gospel. It's been an amazing 2 1/2 years of ministry.

Recently we were recognized as the second fastest growing church in America by outreach magazine. Click HERE to read the article. We stand in awe of the great God we serve and are overwhelmed with gratitude for what He has done.

Honor from a Father....

I’ve heard a lot of sermons on “The Prodigal Son”. The story of the young man who grew dis-satisfied with his situation so he asked for his father for his portion of the inheritance. It was only after he squandered everything when he realized how good he had it. Most of the sermons I’ve heard are from the vantage point of the son, but I want to look at “The Prodigal Father"….the guy who was waiting and watching for his son to return home.

In the story, the prodigal father was always on the look out for his son, knowing he would return one day. When he saw his son coming at a distance he ran out to meet him, not only did he welcome him with open arms he lavished gifts upon him. Whenever I see a person taking the long walk up our sidewalk on a Sunday morning I think of that story. I get an image of a prodigal returning home.

I’ve started to use this story to illustrate the concept of honor to our guest services teams. Every Sunday morning there are people who arrive late and have the long walk up our sidewalk to the school where we meet. Here’s where the honoring part comes in…it’s when the story moves you to action. When you realize that God has put you in a place to be His arms and feet, to give a hug to the prodigal, now you’re on to something. The heart of God is not just to welcome His prodigals home, His heart is to honor them…to go to extravagant means to demonstrate His love.

The person walking up the step may be far from God filled with guilt and shame over the circumstance of life. This may be the one time the entire year they give church a chance because they’ve worked up enough courage in the midst of despair to get in the car and drive across town. Now they’re walking up the sidewalk and you see them coming at a distance…what to you do? Do you wait for them get to the door and you barely notice them or give them a cursory “welcome”. Or are you so moved in your spirit that you realize that you’re God’s ambassador who has a divine appointment to welcome home the prodigal!!!

Honor starts in your heart…it’s the realization of who God is and what He has called you to do. It’s the extravagant means God wants exhaust to demonstrate His grace. It’s the place where you will connect that person to the very heart of God through how you approach them, through the words your use, through the way you look at their face, through the very words you use and how you use them…..Honor is remembering where you used to be and wanting desperately for God’s grace to shine on this person’s soul!!!

If you are in a role that comes in contact with anyone on a Sunday morning at your church…that’s pretty much anyone in the building, you need to understand that God has ordered your steps and given you a divine appointment to be “The Prodigal Father” as His sons and daughters return home….operate with the sense of calling and honor those He brings to us!!!

This is Funny...

This might be one of the funniest things I've seen in a long time. Make sure you watch the entire thing as the ending is priceless....

Potential Paradigm...

One the the consistent themes that has flowed from Pastor Steven's heart is "The Potential Paradigm". It's the space between our perception and God's reality. It's the difference between who we think we are and who He has called us to be.

As I was reading in Judges Chapter 6 something jumped off the page. It's the moment in time when God called Gideon. As I read the story through "The Potential" lens it was obvious there was a big difference between who God called Gideon to be and how he viewed himself. To Gideon he was "the least in in his family and his family the least in his tribe." He was saying, "I'm insignificant, there are a lot of others that are a whole lot smarter and more qualified than me." Gideon's self deprecating answer was in response to God's calling him while he was going about the normal routine of the day. God came to him and said "The Lord is with you, mighty warrior." Gideon was involved in the monotony of life and God speaks through the mundane in a profound way.

This is a perfect example from scripture of what Pastor Steven has been drilling into the staff. There are significant callings, destinies and potential waiting inside of people and God has called us to speak life into them. God know who Gideon was, a mighty warrior....but Gideon saw himself as the least of the least. Can you relate? Have you been feeling insignificant? Have you settled into living out the mundane? I'm here to tell you that there's greatness inside of you.....get about the business of God, you are a mighty warrior!!!!!!

If you're a volunteer at Elevation, get ready. Pastor Steven has been preparing us for the next thing......The calling out of the called.....The speaking of life into dormant gifts....The challenging of the self perception....The Potential Paradigm!!

This guy had a bad day.....

Prior to being a pastor I was an Athletic Trainer. The career deals with caring for and rehabilitation of athletic injuries. Most of the people in the procession have a sick fascination with watching video footage of injuries, not in a sadistic way...but in a way of trying to figure out what happened to better understand the structures that may be injured.

WARNING: If you have a queezy stomach, you probably do not want to watch....This athlete had a very bad day when his weightlifting attempt at the Olympic games didn't go as planned.

Asking the hard questions....

One of the my a favorite things to do is to coach/develop/teach people. It's something that I've always enjoyed and something that God's put in me. Over the past few months I've put together an Event Planning team. It's made up of high capacity people with significant potential. The purpose of pulling this team together is development. I truly believe that every person on this team has a significant destiny placed inside and my job is do pull every ounce of potential to the surface.

Currently we are going through a book called Integrity by Henry Cloud. It is an excellent book that is a must read for every leader. In the current section we are covering, "Establishing Trust", it puts forward the premise that "a leader gains trust through making himself vulnerable". It is an excellent concept illustrated through 4 characteristics that describe someone who is "vulnerable":

1) They possess strength

2) They possess "likeness" to the ones following them

3) They are warm

4) They are imperfect, and coping models, as opposed to perfect ones

Here's where the homework comes in. Each of the people in the group is assigned to interview two people that know them and well ask them for honest feedback on their vulnerability. Here's the kicker, most people will seek feedback from friends/family who will give nice positive feedback or at least sugarcoat the weaknesses. Because of this human tendency, they have to seek feedback from people who don't necessarily like them. They must elicit responses from people they have had conflicts with in the past, but know them well enough to give a thorough analysis.

At first, my group gave a collective "are you kidding me", but soon they began to realize I wasn't kidding. It is a scary exercise. To make yourself vulnerable is one thing, but to make yourself vulnerable to someone that may not be on your Christmas card list is a whole different world.

I'm excited about this exercise on multiple levels. It's a whole new level of vulnerability. The feedback shouldn't be sugarcoated and probably be 100% more helpful than the fluffy stuff we usually seek out. As you're reading this blog thinking, "wow I don't know if I could do that"....it probably means that you need to do it. The more you mature as a leader the more you need unfettered feedback for your continued development....at least begin to ask yourself, "who have you given permission to speak honestly into your life?"

What's in a "WOW"

Everyone has expectations, it's our nature. If you're going to the DMV you expect to wait in a long line. If you're headed to vote tomorrow you expect to be verbally assaulted by political pollsters giving one last push for you to vote for their candidate. With every experience you're about to encounter you try to formulate what you think it will look like, feel like, how you will be treated, etc... you use your past experiences to predict future encounters.

In the south everyone has had some form of contact with the church. There aren't too many people walking into Elevation on a Sunday morning that have never been in church. Whether they were good experiences or bad experiences people will use that previous knowledge to try to predict what their "church" experience at Elevation will look like.

Our job is to create a WOW experience. Let me give you an example...when you go to Outback Steakhouse and order a steak you have a certain expectation of what you'll get. If the steak is better than what you expected you say...WOW!! If the steak is below you're expectation you walk away unsatisfied. In that regard church is very similar, people are walking in with expectations and your job is to do your best to know what they are thinking, listen to what they are say and understand how they are feeling.

To create a WOW means that you plan and prepare for your guests before they ever arrive. It means that you actually study what their expectations are and create systems to deliver a WOW. Do you homework, train your volunteers and empower them to WOW your guests. You'll be amazed because your guests will come back because of the WOW factor that was experienced in their life......

3 Words Update...

Last week I decided to try something a little different, I wanted some feedback about how people perceive me. I email approx 100 people and asked them a simple question, "describe Larry in 3 words". I wanted opinions from a wide array of people that I've had connections with so I sent the email to friends, coworkers, people that I've helped and people that are no longer attending Elevation.

There were two words that were fairly consistent between all the groups of people; encouragement and intensity. I guess I wasn't surprised by those two words because I know that's in large part who God has made me to be. I truly look at glass as half full and believe that God will provide a way even when we can't see it. The intensity side is me has always been there and now that I have a 2 1/2 year old son I see first hand what i look like because he's a mirror image of his daddy...sorry Corbin.

The third word was the wild card and varied depending upon the relationship. If the feedback came from a volunteer that I've poured into I heard things like mentor or leader. When the feedback came from people that I have in one way or another helped they said things like compassionate, loving and generous. The feedback from people I'd had difficult conversations with and are people that probably won't send me a Christmas card I found the most interesting. To be honest I didn't really want to see what they would say, but it was extremely helpful. There were a few that were pretty harsh, but the majority were things such as straight-forward, loyal, and honoring of my pastor.

For me the value in this exercise is to see how am I representing myself, my church and Jesus Christ. I'm not going to take this information and try to change who I am, but I am using it to help me continue to discover who God made me to be. Through this little experiment I believe most people are consistent in two words, but the third word is the wild card. For instance I score a zero on every spiritual gifts test I've ever taken. But when I'm dealing with someone in crisis I need to operate with compassion. I don't like confrontation, but if I need to be straight forward I'll lean into the conversation.

I would encourage you to consider such an experiment. Stop and wrestle with the question, "how am I representing myself, my church and Jesus Christ?" Combine that question with "who do I want to be and what do I want to be know for" and you have a serious personal development tool in your hands. If you listen long enough you may be surprised by what you hear?

2 Chances at Childhood...

As I sit and hold my 8 week old daughter I'm reminded of a great piece of advice a friend once share with me. He told me that you get two chances childhood. Unfortunately, the first one you have very little say so in because you're the kid and someone else is making all the choices for you. But the second childhood is the one you provide for your kids because now you're in a place to make the decisions.

What's horrible is if you started out 0 for 1. If you grew up in an environment that didn't set you up for success I'm sorry, I wish it would not have turned out that way. What's tragic is if you end up 0 for 2. To go through a difficult childhood only to repeat the cycle in your kids is truly tragic.

Stop and ask yourself the question how you want to finish. Let that answer guide your heart and mind as you make choices consistent with that truth, because you do get a second chance at childhood....what will you do with it?

Turning Subjective into Objective....

One of my hobbies is to officiate wrestling. Really it's my only hobby, but that's for another day. It's hard to get it out of my blood because I've been around the sport since first grade. This past weekend I went to "Mat Clinic" with one of the best officials in the country, Dave Hickson. He's the guy who officiates the NCAA finals...he's the one who gets the call when Minnesota is wrestling Iowa. He's that good. During the clinic he talked through how he officiates and the systematic approach he applies to the calls he makes.

In wrestling, one of the toughest and most subjective things to call is stalling. It's when the is no action and the wrestlers are being passive. Ten different officials will call it ten different ways, it's that subjective. Dave made a profound statement "my job is to make the subject objective and call it consistently every time no matter what." He's developed a system to interpret stalling and he's going to call it the same regardless of who's winning or how much time is left in the match. Dave developed his system based upon his definition of stalling, "it's when one wrestler is the aggressor and his opponent is passive and it happens repeatedly...repeatedly is three times." In his system there's a clear definition with an objective criteria. So in a match if one wrestler makes a legitimate maneuver and his opponent does not counter, that counts as one point and Dave keeps score. If the score gets to 3-0 its stalling. It doesn't matter when, where or to who it happens...because he's developed a system.

In your world, what are the subjective areas? Where are the grey spots? With the people you are leading, what are the areas that you've allowed to remain ill defined? This principle is revolutionizing my approach to certain situations. How about you? If you are leading leaders that utilize volunteers and you ask them the question "how are your volunteers doing", what is the typical response you get...."good, alright, we need more, they don't show up on time." What can you do with the information, it's totally subjective.

When they say "I don't have enough", push back and make it objective. Ask "how many do you need to create a level of excellence and how many do you have?" Now instead of saying "I don't have enough", they can say "I am at 64% capacity".

If you're a leader, you have an obligation to remove the subjective and give clear specific objectives for success. It's the thing that will turn ordinary into extraordinary....it's the systems that create reproducible results...it's a great way to coach those you lead....and it's an opportunity to call people to higher standard because they have greater leadership capacity.

Monkey See...Monkey Do

At Elevation we are constantly re-doing, re-tooling, re-engineering our systems. As rapidly as we've grown, so has the need for changing how we do ministry. But with any growing organization that are areas that develop bad habits and unhealthy practices. As I've been thinking through this process I stumbled across the story of "8 Monkeys in a Room"

Eight monkeys are placed in a room. There is a ladder in the room and at the top of the ladder is a big bunch of bananas. The monkeys are fed adequate but unappetizing food. For the first week anytime a monkey climbs the ladder, a nozzle drenches all the monkeys with ice cold water. Soon, anytime a monkey starts to climb the ladder, all the other monkeys gang up on him and beat him senseless to avoid being punished.

One monkey is removed, and another new takes his place. Not knowing about the ice water punishment, he approaches the ladder. All the other monkeys proceed to beat him to a pulp. Every time he gets near the ladder, he’s pummeled.

A second monkey is replaced and the same thing happens to him. But now, even the first replacement monkey joins in the beating. A third is replaced…a fourth. Eventually all the original monkeys have been replaced. The new 8 monkeys have never experienced the ice water punishment, yet anytime one of them approaches the ladder, the rest of them gang up on him.

As you train and develop your people, what systems and practices are going on that have trained or taught the wrong things....and the people doing it don't even know it? What unhealthy practices need to be re-train? What priorities need to be re-arranged? What systems need to re-constructed?

What do you want to be when you grow up....

Remember when you were a kid, people would ask you "what do you want to be when you grow up?" You'd hear all kinds of amazing answers, "fireman, school teacher, doctor...." Generally you heard things about what the position represented (a fireman was some we all respected) or how they positively affected others (school teachers change lives). They expressed a desire to "be" something....to make a difference in this world.

But as you get older, the question changes. Ever seen two grown men meet for the first time and ask "What do you want to be when you grow up?"... no the question they ask is "What do you do?" There is a foundational shift as we get older, the shift from "be" to "do".

Not sure when it takes places, but someone along the line it all changes. It's definitely not because we've arrived and have achieved the epitome of "being". I think the changes are subtle, but they are there. Overtime our mind shifts from what could "be" to what "is". With age most people migrate from making a difference to paying the mortgage.

So, here's my question to you: "What do you want to be when you grow up?" Why did your dreams die? Why are you settling for "doing"? God has called you to greatness and it has everything to do with who He has called you to "be" and very little with what you "do".

Hero of the Week...

I know you have enjoyed the inspirational stories with our "Hero of the Week". Today's will not disappoint. You're about to see Nick Vujicic, a truly incredible story about perspective despite being dealt a difficult hand in life. I hope his perspective encourages you to face your challenges a little differently today....

3 words....

When you think of the DMV, what word comes to mind......SLOW. How about when you think of the library...quiet. What about Clemson football...too easy I couldn't resist. Every organization has a unique identity, a brand. It's at the intersection of the organizations unique culture and the personal experience of those who use their resources.

Every entity has a culture. It's the way you operate, relate and connect with the people that walk through your doors. Over the summer we had our annual Staff Advance...other churches call it their Retreat, but we feel that the church should always move forward. Going into the advance Pastor Steven gave each staff an assignment, interview 3 people who have been associated in some way with Elevation and ask each to describe the church in 3 words. The exercise helped the staff understand that we have a unique culture, but is it the one we want. We walked away from the assignment with a clear understanding of our 3 words: Audacity, Honor and Generosity. Moving froward all decisions, structures, conversations need to reflect those 3 words.

If you are at a church I recommend that your staff go through this exercise. It will help you clarify your culture and your identity. I've decided to take this to a personal level. I'm going to email a random sample of my people in my contact list and ask them to respond with 3 words that describe me. I may not like everything I read, but it will help me understand how I'm being perceived. The goal is to leverage to feedback for personal development. I'll keep you posted on the results!!

My Broken Wrist...

I found out yesterday that my wrist is broken. Over the past month it's been sore, but Monday night it became excruciating. I stopped in the middle of my workout and went home, took a few Tylenol and strapped on an ice bag. Tuesday morning I called one of our Elevators George. He's a PA at an orthclinic in town so he had me come by for an x-ray and to my surprise I have a broken wrist.

The crazy thing about the break is that it's old, not ever sure when it happen. It may have been over 20 years ago when I broke a different bone in my wrist and they didn't see this fracture. It may have happened at some other point that I don't remember, but it's definitely been there awhile. The official term is a non-union ulnar styloid fracture....non-union meaning the bones never healed back together like the should have.

It got me thinking about when old injuries, spiritual emotional or physical go untreated. There not a problem until the stress level increases to the point it exposes the fracture. In my case it hadn't bothered my until this point because I'm in the middle of work out routine where I'm increased the weight. It was the new weight, "stress level", that exposed the fracture.

If you want to become the person that God created you to be will require that you be catapulted into greater levels of carrying the load, the weight of the organization. Fractures of personality and spiritual maturity are not exposed at low stress levels. It's not until weight is added that the problems become apparent.

If you have old fractures you know about, you have to do the hard work of healing those breaks so they don't become a liability in the future. If you're like this case and you never new it was there, how will you respond? Will you aggressively pursue whatever means to fix the problem or will you put it in a cast and play that wait and see game? The calling is too significant and the stakes are too high for you to play it safe! Your calling demands that you take aggressive measures to heal the broken parts!

Catalyst 08....

Last week Elevation took a load of people to Catalyst, well over 100 in all. Half were staff and spouses and the other half were volunteers that took time away from their families to be a part of the experience. If I were to write out everything that happened this would be the longest blog entry ever, so I'll bullet the highlights of the experience:

• Elevation is the most generous church. We paid for all of the staff and spouses along with a bunch of volunteers to attend. In addition Pastor Steven made sure that the entire core team, the 8 families that sold their homes and moved to Charlotte to start Elevation were there.
• Pastor Steven tore it up. He preached one of the most inspired messages I have ever heard. The anointing of God was all over him...seriously he could have read "The Reader's Digest" and God would have ministered to people through it.
• Before Pastor Steven got up to preach I about passed out because of the excitement...I think I threw up in my mouth...disgusting I know.
• During Pastor's sermon he had the original core team stand up and he recognized us in front of the 12,000 people in attendance. A memory that will last a life time...thank you Pastor Steven!
• My wife continues to amaze me. We took our 5 week old daughter and my wife didn't miss a beat, she was engaged through everything because she wanted to be there and she knew how important it was to me.
• God has given extreme favor to our church...may we never take it for grated!!!
• I am humbled that God would allow me to be of this amazing movement.
• We have an amazing staff, they truly would do anything to advance the gospel...

Thank you Elevators for believing in the vision of "seeing people far from God filled with life in Christ." Our first 2 1/2 years have been amazing...I can't wait to see what's going to happen next!!!

Ready to go on a Date....

We are in the middle of a sermon series called Visionary Love, Dream Sex. It deals head on with issues of marriage, relationships and sex. If you haven't listened to many of Pastor Steven's sermons, he almost always has a "so-what" to his sermon. "So-what's" are the "what you going to do with the message." It's the call to action, the rubber meeting the road, theology of scripture transforming your methodology of life.

One of the driving themes is for marriages to move from the dry land of survive and cross over into the abundant land of thrive. Our desire for this series is for marriages to be restored and strengthened. A way for that to start to happen is for a husband and wife to go out on a date. A date by itself won't fix a thing. But through giving couples uninterrupted time to discuss the things they are hearing on Sunday can provide a great opportunity for God's truth to shine through.

It's one thing to tell everyone on Sunday morning to take their wife on a date. Some will follow-through, but many will not. It's another thing to say "we want your marriages to be strong so we're going to pay for your date". And than to take it one step further and say "and we're going to pay for your childcare as well."

That's exactly what we did on Sunday. In a bold move Pastor Since told the church "you're going on a date and the church is paying for the meal and your childcare." Obviously it's expensive, but the return is beyond measure. I get jazzed thinking about how this will bless so many couples. Because of the economic times a lot of people can't afford to go on a date, so for many this will be the only they will go on. The speed of life can consume couples, they look up and years have passed, that's why they have to make this date happen in two weeks.

One of the most important elements of Pastor Steven's sermons are the call to action. But it starts with the leadership. If we're not smoking it, we shouldn't be selling it!

I love our church...

Elevation gets criticised in certain circles because of our stance on numbers (even right here on this blog in the past few days) Some claim we're all about the numbers and you know what, we are all about the numbers. What matters to us more than anything is the number of people who profess faith in Jesus Christ, the number of marriages that are put back together and the number of people who were far from God that were filled with life in Christ....you better believe we're all about the numbers.

We are so aggressive about it because we realize that behind ever number is a story of life transformation. It's the women who had an abortion years ago and has been walking in guilt and shame ever since. It's the Bank of America exec who has been climbing the corporate ladder but is empty and broken inside. And it's the couple on the verge of divorce that's been restored. Everyone of those stories is evidence of God's grace and mercy....that's why we're all about the numbers.

This past week I had the privilege meeting Ashley and Justin. They have been coming to Elevation for the past few months and God has really been working in their lives. We're in the middle of "Visionary Love, Dream Sex" and they've been hearing sermon after sermon about God's standard for dating, marriage and sex. You see, Justin and Ashley have been living together for the past year and a half. Something amazing happened as they've been sitting under Pastor Steven's preaching...the Holy Spirit has been bringing a Godly conviction. They came to the place where they realized the choices they had made and the lifestyle they are living weren't glorifying God and they wanted desperately for that to change.

Ashley and Justin came by to see me one day last week to begin the process of planning their wedding. Through the course of the conversation it was evident they love Jesus and love each other, so I threw out a wild idea...something I though they would laugh at. I said "the best time to make it right is as soon as possible, so how about you guys get married right here, right now.” Their response blew me away-"why wouldn't we get married right now". They wanted nothing more than to make it right with God and be restored to him. We grabbed a dozen or so staff at the office and walked down the block to the park and on October 2nd 2008 Justin and Ashely became husband and wife.....

I LOVE OUR CHURCH!!! I love that Pastor Steven preaches a message full of grace and truth that allows the Holy Spirit to do what only He can do...bring about conviction, repentance and restoration!! In many other churches Ashley and Justin would have walked our feeling condemned because they couldn't get past the fact they had the same address...not with Pastor Steven. These people walked out knowing that God loves them and has plans for their lives. They heard that Jesus died on the cross for their sins and there's a better way so be restored to God. I love our guest services people, they go out of their way to create a welcoming experience where people genuinely feel someone is glad they came to church. I love Wade Joye, Chris Brown and Mac Brock our worship leaders. They tirelessly labor each work to create a worship experience where the presence of God is felt, connecting with the deepest part of the heart. I love our community groups pastor Jay Rabon who immediately after the marriage ceremony put his arms around the couple and will personally oversee them getting plugged into the perfect small group to begin to build community and grow in their faith.... I LOVE OUR CHURCH!!!

This is one of those moments where I am so proud of Elevation. We didn't start this church to hold theological discussion where everyone walks away feeling smarter but does nothing with what they heard. We started it for people like Ashley and Justin who desperately needed a touch from God! We started it for the people who are broken and hurting...those far from God so they could be filled with life in Christ!!!!! I LOVE OUR CHURCH

LB's Hero of the Week...

I'd like to introduce you to Adam Bender. My brother in-law Roger Idstrom sent me this story because he knew you'd like to see it as this week's hero. As you'll see, Adam is an 8 year old boy with one leg. He was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer which led to an amputation. But you'll see it didn't keep this little boy down...enjoy this amazing story!!!

Follow the Leader.....

If you're leading in any capacity, have you ever wondered what those following you have been seeing?

Addicted to being the hero...

Sounds strange doesn't it....but it's something that I've come to realize about myself. I have the predisposition to wanting to be the guy that swoops in and saves the day. That can be a great thing and a huge blessing to others. But when your heart wants that opportunity for it's own promotion there's a problem. There's a fundamental flaw, it's called Pride. It's where you become addicted to the "thank you's". It's the place where you pride yourself on being "that guy"- the go-to guy. It's where your identity becomes wrapped in what you do, not who you are...

Don't get me wrong, being the go-to guy is not a bad thing. But when the heart is doing it for the wrong motives God's not glorified. I don't know about you, but the closer I get to God to more flaws I find in myself and realize an ever greater dependence upon Him. It's a whole new layer of learning what it means "deny myself".........

Can anyone relate?

It's back.....

We've been waiting for almost a year, but it looks it will be well worth it!!!

Close the "Backdoor"...

Buzzwords come and go in every industry or line of business. The church world has not only embraced this philosophy, it has overdosed on it. A concept is thrown out there and it takes off like wild fire. People start claiming the new tag line and running with it. Churches will implement a statement without ever really understanding the principles behind it. The most effective thing you as a church leader can do is to burrow the principle and develop your own practices. Gain an understanding of the “why” and than develop your own “what”.

Let me give you an example. A big buzz word in the assimilation world is to “close the backdoor.” It’s a series of practices developed around the premise of how we can keep people. Retention is a great philosophy, but the way in which the “close the backdoor” philosophy is applied is anything but a great practice. In many ways it can actually be an extremely devastating practice in the church wreaking havoc on its culture. This theory states that you should have a big front door and a small back door in an attempt to keep everyone who shows up on Sunday mornings. At Elevation we don’t want all people who walk through our doors to join the team; we want the “right” people to join the team. When I say “right” people, I mean those that line up with our philosophy of ministry, those who believe that being a part of a church means rolling up your sleeves and engaging in the life of the church. The “right” people are those looking to put their faith into action and become part of a body of believers who labor to create an experience where those who are far can be filled with life in Christ.

Don’t get me wrong we have a huge, I mean gargantuan, front door for those who need to experience Christ. That’s the mission of Elevation!!! That’s why we’ve seen over 900 people give their lives to Christ during our recent series called "The Gospel". But when it comes to allowing people to become a part of the ministry through actively participating in the life of the church, we have a small door because it’s not for everyone. It’s for those who whole heatedly believe in the vision of Elevation and desire to be a part of something bigger than themselves. People who want to show up every week and take up a seat and “get fed” will fall by the wayside. Our philosophy is - the best way to close the back door is to keep some people from getting in the front door.

As you evaluate your own church and assimilation strategy ask yourself a few questions. What is the vision of your church? What do you want the culture of your church to look like? What does it mean to be a part of your church? Who does Sunday morning exist for, is it for the exhortation of the believer or is it for those who are far from God? Based upon how you answer the questions will tell you a lot about what your doors need to look like. Don’t just burrow a practice, understand the principles behind it and develop your own practices. So what ever you do with your doors be intentional, become what God has called your church to be.

LB's Hero of the Week....

I heard about this story several years ago and it's one that makes me cry every time I watch. It's a selfless act that will inspire fathers everywhere to sacrifice for their kids. This truly is one of the greatest examples of human love that I have ever seen.

Fear....

The world is full of people who "would have", "could have", or "should have". A common theme that resonates through those statements is fear. Fear of "failure", fear of "what others will think" or fear of "how will we pay for this thing". It doesn't make a different what the fear is, the end result is a person whose paralyzed. You've been there before. You've had dreams that never came to pass because you gave up on them because the fear was too intense.

Fear can be a great thing. It can be the catalyst that causes you examine the cost before you jump. It can be the clarifyer of what you are called to do. Through the right lens and harnessed appropriately, fear can be a powerful tool in your hands. But all too often fear ends up a straight jack that restrains a person from experiencing God's best. The road of life is littered with well intentioned people that gave up on a dream...how about you? Have you given up on a dream that God put in your heart because of the "what if"?

Don't let fear rob you of enjoying God's best! Refuse to believe the lies any longer, stand in who you are in Christ, grab your dreams and embrace the fear. Let it be a catalyst that propels you forward rather than a pitfall that paralyzes you for life!!

God is moving in Charlotte....

At Elevation Pastor Steven wants all the staff to take a Sunday off per quarter. It's a great time to rest, plan a vacation around or if you're like me visit as many other churches as you can. So that's what I did yesterday, I visited 2 other churches in Charlotte and God affirmed a few things in the process....

1. He is on the move in Charlotte....there are some great churches out there seeking His face and God is using them to change lives. This city is in the midst of an "Awakening".

2. The Kingdom is greater than any single church.

3. If I'm not at Elevation the place will function just fine...

The day started with worshipping at University Park Baptist Church at 7:00am. They were celebrating Bishop Claude Alexander's 18th anniversary as the leader of "The Park". He is a great man and an anointed leader who is being used by God for great things in this city. You hear about them all the time in the news and how God is using them to bless others. I walked away from their service encouraged by the worship and challenged by the message.

After UPBC I headed over to Freedom House Church to catch their 8:30am worship experience. I had heard a lot of great things about these guys and how God was moving through their ministry so I was excited to spend the morning with them. My contact with the church actually started last Friday when I called Megan. She is Pastor Troy and Pastor Penny's assistant. Megan was great, she made to time call me back on a busy weekend and was a gracious host on Sunday. The church meets in an elementary school and they did a phenomenal job and made the place look great. They labor to create a life changing experience for their guests and it shows. I was warmly welcomed by Jeff Grover their Life Pastor. He took some time to share their story and show me around. The worship was great, Andre Gonzales their Worship Pastor is a passionate guy it showed. I got the chance to meet Pastor Troy and talk with Pastor Penny on the phone and they are the real deal. They love God and love people....something Jesus is blessing. I really believe they are going to blow up and have a huge impact in the city of Charlotte.

Pastor Steven keeps telling us as a staff that we're a part of something special, but it's a whole lot bigger than Elevation. We're a part of a Kingdom movement and we take the time to get out the business of our details we'll see that God is on the move all around us. I am so thankful that He called Elevation to Charlotte and I'm honored that we're partnered with great churches like University Park and Freedom House!

The Vikings will Dominate the Panthers...

Alright Panther fans, I know you're all jazzed about your 2-0 start. You're all excited about Steve Smith returning and the way your defense is playing but that's going to come to a screeching halt this weekend. Yes the vikings are off to a slow start, but that's all going to change this Sunday when we dominate the cats like a rented mule.

LB's Hero of the Week...

Over the next few weeks I will be having a "Hero of the Week". If you've ever thought you can't do something or have been sitting on excuses that have kept you from trying.....Check out Kyle's story and ask yourself again if it's too hard!!

Believe in Yourself....

The story is told of a college class about to take their final exam. The professor walks in and addresses his molecular biology students. "Each of you have worked extremely hard this semester, you know the material and after graduation most of you are off to medical school or graduate school. Since I already know you've mastered the material I'm prepared to give you an offer. Anyone who wants, will receive a "B" right now and not have to take the final exam." Students were blown away and once they realized he was serious, many of them took him up on his offer. The professor made one last appeal "this is your last chance" and a few more took the deal.

The remaining students prepared to take the final exam and their jaws dropped to the floor as they read the instructions on the exam, two simple sentences: "For those of you who believed in yourself and didn't take me up on my offer, you don't have to take the final either. Because you believed in yourself enough and didn't settle for a "B", you will receive an "A".

Believing in your self means you don't compromise, no matter how appealing the offer. It's not settling for something below your potential. Quit looking for the easy way out and lean into those difficult situations in life. Strive for your full potential, do it once and you'll surprise yourself, do it twice you'll surprise others, let it become a habit and God won't be surprised because that's who He made you to be!!!!

Potential....

I've been thinking a lot about this concept recently. As I hold my new daughter I pray that she grow into her full potential in Christ, that she become the person that God made her to be. For her to maximize the full potential that God placed inside of her.

God created you and placed a significant destiny inside of you. When He formed you he did not place limitations on your potential. He did not put a ceiling on your possibilities, they are in fact limitless. He looked upon you and saw all the potential in His creation.

But something happened along the way, limitations and ceilings were artificially placed in your path that God never intended to be there. Other people's distorted perceptions became your reality. Lies, fears and doubt began running through your mind pushing aside the limitless potential God placed in your soul.

Let me remind you of something...you, yes you reading this blog have all the potential in the world. When God created you He did not put a cap or ceiling on your potential...it is limitless. You've been listening to the wrong voices in your life and believing lies for too long! Start listening to the right voices and looking at your present reality through the lens of Christ. Let His opinion define your worth and self perception!!!!

Can you tell I'm a little fired up right now!! I wasted too many days of my life staring at my self imposed ceiling rather than focusing the potential He placed inside of me. Pastor Steven has taught me many things but I thank him the most for teaching me this principal...God placed a significant destiny inside of me!!

Are you staring at your self imposed ceiling or focusing on your potential in Christ? Who is speaking encouragement and destiny into you? What words are coming out of your mouth about yourself and others? What thoughts roll through your head about yourself and others? There's a great destiny inside of you...don't let artificial limitations keep you from experiencing God's best!!!

The Power of Collaboration....

Elevation is not afraid to try something new, it's actually something that's part of our DNA. But there are times when you look up and realize that some of the things you are doing are not the best way to do them. You can fall into the trap of "that's the way we've always done it". You can forget to ask "is this the best way to do it" and rely on "that's how we do it". A practical example from the life of Elevation is the way in which we approached events. In the past we've have a separate event for signing people up for small groups, a separate event for meeting Pastor Steven and a separate event for plugging people into volunteering.

One day our Ministries Pastor John Bishop said "why don't we do one big event strategically calendared combining all three elements." He was the driving force behind "The meet Pastor Steven, join a Community Group, sign up for a volunteer team and otherwise get involved in a church you really want to be a part of but don't know how Event". We had the event last night and it was a great event for several reasons:

1. We plugged almost 500 people into small groups and almost 200 people onto a volunteer team.

2. My Event Planning Team knocked it out of the park....the place look amazing, the food was incredible and the people who showed up walked away feeling honored.

3. We tried something new. Some things were great and some things we'll change, but we tried something new!!!

4. But the most important thing was the spirit of collaboration that it fostered in our staff. It forced people to work together to pray and plan....it forced us to think about the whole rather than our own piece of the pie.

John has been pushing the ministries department to truly see ourselves as a department rather than a collection of individual areas. He has been making great strides in developing that cohesion in recent months and last night was a giant step forward toward harnessing the Power of Collaboration.

In your church, work environment or organization who can you include in your world? Who can you work collaboratively with the enhance the whole vision and not just your piece of the pie? Who do you need to ask to help with what's on your plate because their strengths compliment your weaknesses? Who do you need to offer your services to because you can enhance what they are doing? There is nothing more powerful than the local church working arm in arm toward the common goal of "seeing people far from God filled with life in Christ."

How deep is your vision....

Each weekend we have church planters and church teams from around the country come to Charlotte to see what God is up to at Elevation Church. With each of the visits there are a few things you can always count on happening. First, they will be given the VIP treatment through our Backstage:Elevation experience. We will spend hours with each team answering their questions and explaining every element of what we do. The second thing that happens is the church planters will experience our volunteer force firsthand. The question they will invariably ask is, “how do you get your volunteers so committed”. The answer to that question is easy to say, but extremely difficult to engineer. The answer is vision, but it goes way beyond a tag line or a rah-rah session. It comes from a place of calling and a singular focus on a common goal, “seeing people far from God filled with life in Christ”. Everything that happens on a Sunday morning points to one thing – the preaching of the gospel and people receiving Christ as their savior.

To see how well a church believes in the their vision don’t start with the Pastor or the staff, start with the guy in parking lot or the lady changing diapers in the baby room. Go and ask them “why do you do park cars” and see what kind of response you get. That’s where you’ll learn how powerful the vision is in a church; how deep does it permeates through the organization. Is the parking guy just as passionate about his role and opportunity as the lead Pastor? If he is, now you’re onto something because everyone in the organization is moving in the same spirit with a singular focus.

At Elevation Church we’re becoming even more passionate about moving forward with a singular vision and here are a few practical things that have been guiding us along the way.
Check the flow – Ask the guy in the parking lot “why does you park cars”. What do you hope to hear from him? At Elevation we want to hear 2 things 1) People are coming here today who are far from God and need to be filled with Jesus Christ and 2) my role as a parking guy is a vital link in the chain of people coming to faith in Christ, they connect what they do to the vision with passion and excitement.
Be slow to appoint – The key to having you vision permeate through the organization is directly linked to who you put in your leadership roles. You need to be slow and put in place only those who believe in the vision of your church. Learning the vision is a process and takes time, here’s a simple filter I am beginning to use in communicating the concept:
A. Understanding the vision – Do they clearly understand the guiding principles behind
the vision?
B. Embrace the vision – Do their actions show they understand the vision?
C. Communicate the vision – Will they speak it to those around them?
D. Defend the vision – Will they correct someone who is speaking contradictorily of the vision?
Only appoint leaders who have gone through the filter and will defend the vision. Time on the front end will save a mess at best or a mutiny at worse on the back end.
How are you training – Look at your training systems for every area and evaluate how much time you spend teaching the x’s and o’s of how to perform their role and how much time is spent on vision casting? How often do you do retraining? How frequently will they hear the vision? Is the vision communicated as pieces of information or as a compelling call to action the connects peoples hearts with what they do and the vision of the church?

The biggest commodity you have in your church is vision. It needs to be constantly communicated, demonstrated in the leaders and always defended. The influential capacity of your church will be determined by how deep the vision permeates your organization.

Vision is Divisive....

At first glance you may disagree with the title of this blog, but let me explain and after I'm done I think you'll agree with me.

Consider the following example: put 100 "Christians" in a room and ask them a series of questions. First, "How many of you don't want people going to hell?" How many hands do you think would go up, hopefully you'll see all 100 hands. Question #2, "How many of you will invite your friends/family that are going to hell to church with you next Sunday morning?" How many hands go up? Let's say 75, (I know it's a high estimate, but we'll give them the benefit of the doubt). Question #3, "How many of you believe in the vision so much that you will actively volunteer every other week to see people far from God brought near to Him?" Watcha think, maybe 15-20 hands go up? Question #4, "How many of you believe in the vision so much you would learn to live below you means so that you can be generous with the resources God has given you and systematically tithe 10% or more of your income into the church to see people not go to hell?" According to George Barna, 8% of "Christians" tithe to the local church. That's 8 out of the 100 hands going up.

Vision isn't a statement, it's what you do. The more you clarify the vision the more divisive it is. It draws a line in the sand that says either jump on board or get out of the way because here's where this church is going. For too long churches have muddied the vision keeping in nebulous and ill defined. When vision is only something you say, anything goes. But when you drill it down to what you do people are forced to do something...either get on board or go somewhere else.

So if you're starting a church don't build your systems around keeping the 100, build them around identify and harnessing the power of the 8. Overtime you'll have 100 people in the room who are sold out for the vision. If you're in a church that has stalled or isn't being ineffective clarify the vision, put definable metrics in place and watch what happens.

Jesus was divisive - people either loved Him or hated Him, but no-one just hung out with him. People were moved toward Him or away from Him, they were affected one way or another when they encountered Him. In your church, how many people are just hanging out? How many people are walking in each week only to leave unaffected? How many are walking out the exact same as they were when they walked in?

Vision is divisive....

Job vs Responsibility....

Every successful organization has clearly defined roles and responsibilities for it's people. The same should be true in the church. One of the most frustrating things for volunteers or staff is when people are unsure what is and isn't a part of their job description. As clarity is brought onto the scene so increases the efficiency and productivity. Things end up begin completed on time and fewer details are missed. The upsides are huge when creating a systematic approach to your processes. Moving from a "let's work hard and get it done" to a more systematic approach with cleared communicated expectations is wonderful.

There can be pitfalls that if you're aware of can create an unhealthy part of your culture. Some of the pitfalls happen insidiously and can erode the foundation of what you worked so hard to develop through the "let's get it done " mentality. A potential pitfall is the undermining "that's not my job" mentality. It's the mentality that says "that's not on my job description" so I don't have to worry about it. It's the thinking that says "I'll do my job and you do yours". That sounds great on the surface, but can be dangerous. Overtime people can walk through the facility recognizing problems and see issues and think "well, that's not my job".

It is true everyone should have a job, a list of things they should do. But if you're on staff or a volunteer you have a greater responsibly. It's a responsibility to make sure every guest that walks through your doors has a great experience. It's your responsibility to recognize something out of whack and either address it yourself or make the person overseeing that area away of the problem. Work through appropriate channels, but don't walk away thinking "that's not my job".

Your responsibility to ensure that every guest has a great experience trumps the "that's not my job" mentality. Your responsibility can never be abdicated because it's not your job. May we never be guilty of allowing a guest to have a poor experience because we forget the reason we created the system. The stakes are too high and if someone walks away because of something we did or did not do, we may never get another chance. Make a great experience where the gospel is preached and where they can meet Christ, that's your responsibility!!!

WOW, what an amazing season....

Elevators,

I am standing up clapping and screaming at the top of my lungs giving you a standing ovation for the faith and sacrifice you'd displayed over the past 6 weeks at Elevation. Let me recap what God has done through you:

1. You labored to create a great experience where over 1,000 people responded and were spontaneously baptized.
2. You sacrificed and engaged in a 21 day fast seeking the heart of God to prepare for "The Gospel" series....He listened.
3. Over 900 people gave their lives to Jesus Christ during the past 3 weeks during The Gospel series!!!!!

God is great! I am so proud of you and am truly blessed to be in a church like Elevation...Thank you!!! Go and eat some meat and cheese, after 21 days without it you've earned it! I can't wait to see what happens next!!!

Look before you leap....

I just finished reading a story that made me laugh harder than I had in awhile. Last weekend college football kicked off around the county. Universities spends significant dollars to develop creative ways to commemorate the first home game. One tried and true tradition is to have the game ball brought into the stadium by a skydiver. The University of North Carolina wanted to employ such a tactic last weekend and have thousands of screaming tarheel fans cheer as the skydiver brought in the game ball into the stadium. UNC had done everything, they had hired the best skydiving company with a long record of success. They had clearly communicated the arrival time and even given them the GPS coordinants. The plane took off and cruised the desired altitude....the skydiver gets set and jumps. As the skydiver falls to the earth he opens his chute and prepares for a picture perfect landing. It wasn't until his feet hit the ground that he realized that he made one huge error, he was landing in the wrong stadium...instead of UNC, he was landing 8 miles in the wrong direction at Duke stadium. That's funny!!!

As I thought about the situation I realized it happens all the time. People have great intentions and jump only to realize they're landing in the wrong place. Whatever the reason the skydive was wrong. Blame it on GPS, pilot error or a simple oversight he landed in the wrong place.

Application point: before you jump, make sure you're going to land in the right place.

Daelyn Update....

We were discharged from the hospital Thursday at 11:00am. Mom and baby are doing great. Daelyn is the easiest baby in the world so far. She eats, sleeps and smiles. We thought we had it easy with Corbin, but this one is a breeze.

Janet was able to get 4 hours of sleep last night and woke up this morning feeling incredible! She is amazing....more photos coming soon.

Guest Blogger: Janet Brey

It’s amazing what your body, mind and spirit experience with the addition of a second child to your family. My biggest concern with the impending arrival of our daughter has been the uncertainty that our firstborn would experience while adjusting to the new inclusion in our family. Nobody can explain a mother’s love; it is simply something that must be experienced (I imagine it’s similar for Dad’s too!). To have God create something so miraculous and beautiful and then give us the opportunity to love it and raise it is one of life’s greatest blessings. I can’t tell you how much I love our firstborn, Corbin. The love is so powerful and truly comes from God. So naturally when we found out we were pregnant, some of my first fears were focused on Corbin and how my love might change for him and how he would adapt to a sibling.

Unfortunately, those fears have not subsided with the many months of pregnancy. I wish I could say that I easily handed it over to God and haven’t had to struggle with it any more, but that wouldn’t be honest. I have had several tearful moments worrying about how I would have to “share my love” instead of being able to pour all my love lavishly on one child. I’ve also worried that our son would be jealous of his sister and not understand why mommy doesn’t love him so much anymore.

Well, we’re on day number two now. Our daughter’s birth will be very memorable for many reasons! Her birth did not resemble our son’s at all, and it’s nice to have two very different but good memories for each of them. I can’t say that I’ve conquered my fears over sharing my love; in fact, it was very hard to send my firstborn home last night and watch his chin quiver and eyes look sad and fearful as he left. He kept saying, “Mommy…home!”. And I wanted to be there for him so badly! But I received some wonderful advice from my friend Gina just a couple of weeks ago and it’s that advice that is driving me forward. She told me, “Just think of it as multiplication, not division”. You are not dividing your love between the two of them…you are simply multiplying the love that you already have. You will have more love now to give and you will be able to bless more people (now 2 instead of 1) with it.

Wow. That advice has brought so much comfort and has encouraged me to face the future with more excitement rather than fear. It’s always amazed me that God is able to love us so much. I feel like I am one step closing to looking at life through His eyes. There is nothing quite like the innocence of a newborn child. It’s one of the qualities that make them so easy to love! Yet God looks upon us, with all of our many imperfections and sins, and finds us loveable as well. Loveable enough to send His one and only child to die for us, so that we may have a relationship with Him. Do I understand that kind of love? No; it is mind boggling. But what I do have, is a better understanding of God’s ability to enable us multiply our love, and that includes extending our love to those that are loveable as well as those that might be harder to love; to those that might already know God and those that are far from God. My prayer today is that God will continue to impress upon my heart the implications of multiplying my love…as a Mother and as a child of God wanting to reach those that don’t know God’s love yet.

I'd like to introduce you to my daughter....

Daelyn Carley Brey was born September 2nd at 12:34pm.
She weighed 6 lbs 8oz and was 18 1/2 inches long.
Janet was a hero and I have new respect for my wife!!!!
Here are a few photos, more to come soon!!

Tuesday morning updated....

Janet was in considerable pain last night with a lot of contractions until midnight when she had an epidural...praise God for medication. She had a good night sleep and is ready for Daelyn to make her arrival. At 8:30am this morning she had dilated to a 9 so they doctor broke her water which should speed up the process even more. We should have a baby in hand by lunch time today. Thanks for all you prayers, it made a big difference. Janet had such a calm spirit about her during the painful contractions, I am very proud of her.

We'll post photos as soon as she's here!!!!!!

We're headed to the hospital....

Well it looks like today is the day. Janet has been having contractions on and off since early this morning and we’re headed to the hospital. Daelyn Carley Brey will come into this world tonight or tomorrow….I can’t wait to meet my daughter. Janet has been such warrior today…I am so proud of her. Check back for pictures of the new addition to the Brey family!!!

A little bit about LB....

1. I was born and raised in a small town in Minnesota. You may have heard of it if you ever watched "Little House on the Prairie"...I grew up in Sleepy Eye, MN.

2. I was the second youngest of 5 kids, 4 boys and 1 girl. Here are names: Lonnie, LuAnn, Leslie, Larry and Lance.

3. My hobbies: church….and when I'm not doing that I officiate high school wrestling.

4. My educational background is as an Athletic Trainer....sports medicine.

5. Prior to getting into the full time pastor gig I was a college professor. I was the director of Athletic Training at Gardner-Webb University.

6. My first day at school in Kindergarten I wore cowboy boots...one other person wore boots that day as well. Her name was Ashely and we became best friends.

7. Favorite movie of all time: toss up between "The Godfather" and "Vision Quest"

8. First “real job” working at the local Dairy Queen…my sister was the manager.

9. Die hard Minnesota Vikings fan.

10. I’m pretty intense about things especially the church…it is the hope of the world!!

Decision Making....

My wife and I were out shopping recently when we engaged in a conversation about life. Well it was more of me asking her annoying questions and her humoring me, but the topic of our discussion dealt with decision making. Through the discourse I had a huge revelation…there are 2 diametrically opposed processes people employ for making decisions. There is the “starting with the end in mind approach” and the “looking at my circumstances” approach.

Through the conversation I learned that there are people who were raised to look at the circumstances surrounding them and agonize over every step along the way toward a goal. My natural bent is to start with the end in mind and work backward from that decision.

When you make decisions based upon circumstances it can create a belief system that causes you to function in an unhealthy “auto-pilot” approach. If you approach each situation by looking at the first obstacle, than all you see are obstacles standing in the way of where you really want to go. Over time you’ll just say “it’s too hard” or “it’s not worth the hassle”. Eventually you’re living in an endless cycle of failure. It’s the place where you have a lot of “I shoulds”. It’s the place where you start new things but never finish because it’s becomes too difficult or you lack the discipline to see them through. Let me give you an example. Let’s say you want to get into shape and drop some weight. The circumstance approach starts by looking at the immediate condition. “I’m not in good shape right now and I’d probably have a hard time getting in shape. I’d don’t have a lot of free time in my schedule so I’d have to get up early and I’m not an early morning person. If I did loose weight, I’d have to buy a new wardrobe and I can’t afford that so I’ll just sit on the couch.” Extreme example but you get the point.

The other end of the decision making spectrum is to start with the end in mind and let that filter determine ever decision. Let’s use the same example of getting in shape and losing weight. If you start with “I am going to lose weight and get in shape”, here’s how you approach the same scenario. “I will get into shape. I know it’s going to be hard and painful so I’m going to get a personal trainer to make sure I’m doing it right. I don’t have much free time, but I believe so much in the goal I’m going to cancel some standing evening appointments because this is more important. I’m also going to find a work out partner because I realize I’m not a morning person and I need someone to help hold me accountable. I can’t afford the wardrobe right now so I’m going to start saving as I go and sell a few things on ebay, because I’ll need a new wardrobe for my sexy new body that’s around the corner!”

When you start the end in mind the answer to ever decision you face is “YES”. The challenge begins with making choices to see your goal come to pass. It’s evaluating what things need to change in your life in light of the decision and what sacrifices do you have to go through to achieve the goal.

Start with the end and mind…commit to a goal and let that choice answer every decision.

Love in the auditorium.....

Each week hundreds of volunteers labor to create an experience where people are welcomed in a way that makes them feel accepted and loved so that by the time they sit in the auditorium they are free from distractions. We work so hard because we want people relaxed so that their entire focus is on the gospel being preached. It is accomplished through smiling greeters who are actually glad people show up, parking guys who are the first face of Christ for many and our ushers helping people find the seat where their life has the potential to be changed. I truly believe our volunteers get it, they get the connection between what they do and people coming to faith in Christ. They see the fruit of their labors when hands go up in response to an invitation or when they hear a story of someone’s life that was changed at Elevation.

One of the areas where the whole thing becomes a little sticky is in our auditorium. It’s the place where our ushers help people find their seat. There is a mind set in many who have a history in church that they can sit anywhere they want on a Sunday morning. There’s an expectation that there shouldn’t have to sit next to anyone. Well that’s the exact opposite of our philosophy at Elevation. We seat people from the front of the room to the back squeezing everyone toward the middle. Our goal is to have as few as open seats as possible to create a level of excitement in the room. We do allow children in the auditorium, but if they are under the age of 5 they need to sit toward the back in reserved rows and if the child becomes a distraction they will be asked to leave. Lastly, if someone gets up from their seat and leaves the auditorium during the sermon they will not be allowed to return to their seat. They will be graciously escorted to a seat in the back of the auditorium when they return.

Sounds kinda harsh doesn’t it…the fact that we don’t let people sit anywhere they want or if someone leaves during the sermon we don’t let them return to their seat can sound down right mean. But it’s actually the most loving thing we can do. All it takes is one crying child for someone who needs Christ to be distracted. All it takes is one person walking down the isle for someone’s focus to be taken off of the gospel. The most loving thing we can do is to remove all distractions and allow people to experience the love of Christ. Most churches wouldn’t dare do some of the things we do because they don’t want to offend anyone. At Elevation, the most offensive thing we could do would be to see someone far from God come to a worship experience and leave unaffected because of the distractions going on around them.

Most of the people who are offended by what we do in the auditorium are people who have grown up in church because they have never seen it done our way. The people who are far from God usually have no problem with what we do because they don’t have a history entrenched in churchianity and are used to concerts where you’re assigned a seat not expecting much elbow room.

The most loving thing we can do on Sunday morning is to passionately and uncompromisingly run after our vision of seeing people far from God filled with life in Christ. Who do you love on Sunday mornings and how do you love them? For Elevation it’s simple, we’ll always be more concerned with who we’re trying to reach than who we’re trying to keep.